


Rhalgr's Blessing

by Burgie



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/F, Miqo'te WoL, female WoL
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:07:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22107580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Sometimes, wishes do come true.
Relationships: Lyse Hext/Warrior of Light
Kudos: 9





	Rhalgr's Blessing

Coming to the Reach had felt like a dream, once. When Lyse had first come here with Papalymo led by some of the people of Little Ala Mhigo, she’d felt… humbled. Humbled at the sight of what her people had managed to salvage as a little safe haven away from the Garleans, where they’d be safe to plot ways in which to win back their homeland and drive the Garleans out for good. This wasn’t a people living in fear- no, this was a people thriving, working together to fight back with a man named Conrad leading them. If there was any fear, it was displayed in anger, in working harder to be better, to be able to fight Garlemald and win.

Never in her wildest dreams could Lyse have imagined Veronyka being here. But here she was, and happier than Lyse had ever seen her before. Which was a little sadly ironic, in a way, after the Resistance had asked Lyse if she might seek the aid of the Warriors of Light or one of the free companies to help their plight. And Lyse had felt guilty, at first, but… a large part of her had been thrilled at the idea of taking Veronyka home and showing her around the place. For Rhalgr’s Reach was her home now, had always been her home. And there was Veronyka, speaking with one of the people from Clan Centurio. With a slight frown of curiosity, Lyse approached the pair, seeing Veronyka pocket a pouch of gil and a few of the tokens that the clan gave out for successful hunts.

“Hey, Nyka,” said Lyse, unable to help the smile that sprawled across her face as her friend turned to look at her.

“Oh, hi, Lyse,” said Veronyka, grinning. “I was just turning in some hunt bills that I finished today.”

“Wait, you’re hunting? Why?” Lyse asked, worry clouding her thoughts. Of course, she’d suspected as much, but… Veronyka hadn’t hunted since Ishgard, when she’d gone out into the wild in search of beasts to slay to feel better. It must have shown on her face, for Veronyka was quick to shake her head and put a reassuring hand on Lyse’s own.

“No, no, not for that reason,” said Veronyka, shaking her head. “I’m not hunting to feel better now, I swear. It’s just to get stronger, to practice my magic and other fighting skills. And the gil and tokens don’t hurt. If I give them enough tokens, they’re going to give me another cat.” She grinned, and the light in her eyes told Lyse that everything was going to be okay.

“Good, you had me worried for a bit there,” said Lyse, grinning and rubbing the back of her neck. Were her cheeks flushing, or was it just from the heat? It was so hard to tell here, even at night, when the sun no longer beat down on them mercilessly. Fortunately, if Veronyka noticed, she said nothing, only giggled.

“You’ve made me happy enough again that I don’t need to turn to battle to fill the void, Lyse,” said Veronyka, smiling at her, and Lyse felt pinned by her gaze. “I just battle to get better now, and explore dungeons for fun, just like I used to.”

“I’m sure Solar helped you out too,” said Lyse, and now she was definitely blushing, unable to meet Veronyka’s gaze. She didn’t know what she’d do if she saw that amount of love reflected there. What she’d do if she didn’t. Gods, why had Menphina ‘blessed’ her with this curse of unrequited love who would go through all the seven hells and still emerge standing? Brave. Victorious.

“Of course, they’re my family, but… you were the spark,” said Veronyka. And now, Lyse chanced a look at her, and immediately remembered why she shouldn’t. Veronyka’s soft little smile, the look in her eyes, the sheer… adoration and gratitude on her face. But surely, she was only grateful to Lyse for being a good friend. Only loved her like a friend. Not that love between friends was lesser, just… but she’d been silent too long.

“Come with me,” said Lyse, breaking the silence, the tension, before she could combust. “I know I’ve already showed you this, but… it’s different at night.”

“Oh?” Veronyka asked, but followed Lyse eagerly, her black mage robes stripped away to leave her in clothing more befitting a dancer. Clothing that still made Lyse blush to look at. When she could manage to look away from Veronyka’s face, anyway.

At the edge of Starfall, which now glittered as the night sky above, Lyse removed her red boots and plunged her feet into the water, scattering the stars’ reflection so that it looked as though thousands more stars lay below the surface of the lake. She looked up at Veronyka, her face framed by the stars, and had to remind herself of her place. But that didn’t stop her from wanting. Didn’t stop her from wondering as Veronyka removed her dancer’s sandals and sat beside Lyse with her own feet in the water too.

“That’s colder than I expected,” said Veronyka, but she didn’t remove her feet from the water. Lyse was glad for it, even though she was all too aware of just how closely Veronyka was pressed against her.

“Wait, I thought you were dancing those hunt beasts into submission,” said Lyse, noticing how unnaturally warm Veronyka’s body was. It wasn’t just from it being her, either, she’d learned the difference now.

“Oh no, I like blasting things with magic too much to do anything else,” said Veronyka. “A few quick applications of some powerful fire spells is usually enough to kill them. That and some thunder.” She grinned, and there was the excitable miqo’te who’d once found joy in every little thing. She was still in there, even after everything.

“So you haven’t been punching anything else?” Lyse asked. Now, Veronyka blushed, her ears flattening to her hair.

“No,” said Veronyka. “Sorry. It’s just hard to get used to melee fighting when I’m used to ranged casting, you know? And I took to dark knight easily but… that was different.”

“Hey, I don’t mind, we all have our own things, I get it,” said Lyse. “And it means we just have to practice together some more. I still have a lot to teach you.”

“If it means spending more time with you, sign me up,” said Veronyka, grinning. But then, their eyes caught, and Lyse sensed something else in the air. Like the feeling before a thunderstorm (frequent in the Reach), only… different. Their faces were only ilms away, the stars reflected from the water into Veronyka’s eyes, glinting off the mage staff that Lyse now saw poking out from behind Veronyka’s shoulder.

Ordinarily, Lyse would ignore this mood, ignore the temptation, great though it was. But now… now, it was as though all of her guards had fallen away. Every reason not to was gone. There wasn’t some monster about to attack them, they weren’t in a dungeon, Veronyka’s friends were all busy doing something else and neither of them was needed elsewhere…

All Lyse could see was Veronyka. And, before she could stop herself, before she could remember why this was a bad idea, she took Veronyka’s face gently in her hands, leaned in, and pressed a kiss to her lips. If her heart had been thundering before, now, it was a herd of wild marid stampeding through the Fringes as she felt Veronyka’s breath on her lips, a hand cupping her own cheek tenderly, a forehead bumping her own. A tail stroking her leg in ways that she’d only dreamed of. But this… this wasn’t a dream. And she shouldn’t be doing this.

Quickly, Lyse pulled away, blue eyes wide, heart still crashing in her chest. Veronyka was still looking at her, but Lyse looked away, at the water reflecting them, and closed her eyes.

“I… I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me, we’re friends and I shouldn’t ruin that and-“ A hand over her mouth stopped Lyse in her tracks, and she looked up to see Veronyka still looking at her. Smiling.

“I was wondering when you were going to do that, actually,” said Veronyka. Her cheeks looked a touch darker now, her freckles and facial markings not standing out quite as much.

“Wait, you were?” Lyse asked. “Seriously?” She could feel herself shaking, which was completely unlike her. But Veronyka only took Lyse’s hands in her own, still smiling at her.

“If I’m being honest, since that time we spent together in Little Ala Mhigo,” said Veronyka. “But… I’m glad you waited. I needed to grieve and I couldn’t do that if I was jumping into another relationship. Even if it was tempting. But, and don’t tell her I said this, I didn’t want to be like Astrid.”

“Yeah, that’s… a good idea,” said Lyse. “And… thank you. I was tempted and maybe I’m desperate enough to be used as a tool to get over grief but… it feels real, now. Well, almost. Still can’t believe I kissed you like that.”

“If you didn’t, I would have,” said Veronyka. “And I didn’t want you to stop.”

“Wait, so you do like me back? Seriously?” Lyse asked, still hardly daring to believe it. If this were a dream… she may just go mad with the wanting. She almost had before, had she not had Gyr Abania to distract her.

“Yes,” said Veronyka. “Because you make me happy. You’re… you’re the astral fire to my umbral ice, as Jack would probably say. It’s almost like you melted my heart after it was frozen after… what happened. I don’t know. My sister’s good with words, not me.”

“I know vaguely enough about thaumaturgy thanks to Papalymo to understand that,” said Lyse. The memory used to hurt, but… she knew that he’d be happy at this development. Or worrying. Or cautioning her. “So I’m like… your other half?”

“Basically, yes,” said Veronyka. “We always were, even back before I knew who you were. Back before everything went to the seven hells.”

“I… I’ve loved you since then,” said Lyse. “But I couldn’t have made a move anyway since I was pretending to be someone else, and you can’t build a relationship on a lie. Even if it killed me to wait. To watch. To pretend it didn’t hurt.”

“I hope it was worth the wait,” said Veronyka.

“Well… if you can put up with me kissing you every chance I get and keeping you close all the time then yes, it’s absolutely worth it,” said Lyse. Veronyka laughed, bumping her forehead against Lyse’s with a gentle purr before moving her mouth in for another kiss. And this time, Lyse didn’t let go. Instead, Lyse pulled Veronyka closer to her, embracing her the way that she’d only dreamed of before, unmindful of the bare skin of Veronyka’s waist, aware only of Veronyka’s tail stroking her leg, the small sounds that she was making.

When they parted this time, it was mutual, both panting slightly, Lyse’s arms around Veronyka’s waist while Veronyka’s were around Lyse’s shoulders. Veronyka rested her forehead against Lyse’s again, closing her eyes.

“Now I’m not sure if it was just you being there in Thanalan or you loving me that helped me feel better,” said Veronyka.

“Even if we were friends and I didn’t have feelings for you, I still would’ve helped you,” said Lyse. “Because I can’t just let a bright, happy person lapse into sadness. It’s wrong.”

“Do you think… do you think it was Menphina who brought us together that day?” Veronyka asked. “Because I prayed to her a lot when I could bring myself to think.”

“Maybe,” said Lyse. “Maybe it was fate, but whatever the reason… I’m glad it happened. Circumstances notwithstanding.” Veronyka giggled, a purr rumbling from her chest as she dropped her arms around Lyse’s middle and snuggled closer to her. She gazed up at the massive statue of Rhalgr, Lyse following her gaze.

“Is it good luck to kiss before the statue of Rhalgr?” Veronyka asked.

“I… actually don’t know,” said Lyse with a laugh. “But I’m sure it can’t hurt!” There were rumours of Rhalgr granting certain… benefits if certain acts took place in his fist, but Lyse didn’t want to scare Veronyka away or make her clam up by suggesting something like that so soon. She’d waited years. She could wait a little longer. 

Besides… Veronyka was still kissing her. And that was far more important than anything else.


End file.
